Amid Coronavirus, cricketers, as well as film celebrities, are engaging in different activities and sharing with their fans on various social media platforms. Recently, Australian opener David Warner posted some videos of him dancing along with his daughters on popular Bollywood numbers. Now a popular film actor Suniel Shetty has revealed his Indian cricket team squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup in Australia.
Commonly known as ‘Anna’, Sunil, who is widely known for his interest towards this fascinating game participated in a chat show with former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra where he revealed his 14-member Indian squad for the T20 World Cup.
During the conversation with Chopra, Suniel shared his passion and love for the game. He started the show by naming openers in the form of Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul. The former leading actor also picked Virat Kohli for the number three position. He said the above mentioned three players are essential for the team and there is no question of avoiding them.
For the middle-order, Suniel picked Shreyas Iyer, and former India captain MS Dhoni. The Mangalore-born actor said Dhoni is a must-have player in the Indian squad and hence he is his pick. For ignoring Rishabh Pant, Suniel opined that the young wicket-keeper batter needs to lose some weight to remain fit.
“As far as Pant goes, supremely talented player but I think Pant needs to lose 4-5 kilos of weight. It’s a positive thing that I mean to say, it’s not that I’m the god of cricket or the understanding of cricket, but as far as wellness and fitness goes one could see the difference in movement,” said Suniel.
For the all-rounders, Suniel went with Hardik Pandya, Vijay Shankar and Ravindra Jadeja. Suniel expressed that ‘Jaddu’ gives a team an option of the brilliant fielder, his energy is excellent, and he can be pretty handy to have in the side.
The 58-year-old actor also took a jibe at cricket commentator Sanjay Manjrekar who once called Jadeja as a ‘bits-n-pieces’ player. Suniel said that the Jamnagar-born cricketer is nowhere a ‘bits-n-pieces’ player.
“No, I don’t think he (Jadeja) is a ‘bits-n-pieces’ player because I count the enthusiasm of a player as well. It helps to gain confidence. Like Virat, his aggression and passion has changed the mindset of youngsters,” added Suniel.
Among seamers, Suniel went with Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Deepak Chahar and Bhuvneshwar Kumar. The veteran actor also praised Shami and addressed him as a top-quality bowler.
“I think he (Shami) is brilliant, especially when he pitches the ball up. I haven’t seen a cleaner run in a follow-through also than Mohammed Shami. He is a dream bowler,” Suniel added further.
Amongst spinners, Suniel picked the best combo at present in the Indian team, Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav.
Here is Suniel Shetty’s India squad for the T20 World Cup:
Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, MS Dhoni, Hardik Pandya, Vijay Shankar, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Shami, Deepak Chahar, Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
